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The INGO community also hoped that the talks would lead to an increase in aid money, enabling programs to increase in scale. The European Union did recently donate US $5 million for HIV/AIDS assistance. Unfortunately, however, after fourteen months of secret talks, the necessary aid money and cooperation from the government have not been forthcoming. "In an ideal world you would have competent counterparts working in the government that would allow you to take these projects to a larger scale," says one INGO worker. "Unfortunately that is not currently possible here." Representatives from other groups working inside the country continue to describe their relationships with the regime as strained. This rocky relationship is primarily the result of the government’s refusal to publicly recognize any of its problems, including the AIDS epidemic. Instead of the government embracing these organizations, government officials have become increasingly inaccessible. "They [the Burmese government] hate us," one INGO worker says. "The government cannot stand the fact that INGOs are doing positive things here." Another INGO worker from Rangoon expresses a similar sentiment: "The top officials would tell you that this is paradise here and make no mention of the humanitarian crisis." Once inside Burma, the paradisical propaganda is exposed for what it is. The constant rattling of generators, coupled with abject poverty, cannot be hidden, nor can ration lines where people patiently wait for their daily allotment of cooking oil. The INGOs in Burma are more effective than some of their critics outside of Burma appreciate. Supplies and assistance are being delivered to those in need without lining the generals’ pockets. A large number of the INGOs appear to be operating from a no-compromise stance, something people on the outside have been slow to understand. "We have a very high degree of autonomy here that enables us to deliver our aid directly," says one Rangoon-based INGO worker. INGOs in Burma also put together a guidebook for working inside the country called the "Joint Principles of Operation for INGOs in Burma (Myanmar)" (JPO). Roughly half of the groups working inside Burma signed the JPO when it came out two years ago. Numerous INGOs have ways to operate that help them maintain their independence. One is to avoid working directly with the government, or using them as an intermediary for getting supplies out to those in need. Some, although not all groups, have decided not to work with the regime’s Government Organized Non-Governmental Organizations, or GONGOs. Standing up to the regime, however, can have its price. One UN doctor recently refused to give the regime more HIV test kits until they could show some accountability for the last batch. The regime refused this ultimatum and expelled the doctor from the country, sending a message that if you want to play hardball you had better be prepared to pay the price. When INGOs are asked how they respond to outside criticism regarding their presence in Burma, emotions run high. "The fact that they [Burmese people] are living under a military regime is bad enough," says one Rangoon-INGO worker in disgust. "We cannot punish them twice by denying them assistance." "We are trying to keep people alive until the transition to democracy occurs," insists another INGO worker in Rangoon. Not all groups currently working in Burma, however, are ethically carrying out their duties, according to relief officials working in the country as well as along the Thai-Burma border. Japanese INGOs have continually come under fire for the manner in which they deliver their assistance. INGOs in Burma feel that Japan is setting a bad precedent by the way they choose to allocate their aid. Numerous INGO workers also pointed out that none of the Japanese INGOs in Burma endorsed the JPO. "The Japanese donations of cars and money to the regime is dangerous," remarks a Rangoon embassy worker. Preferential treatment for the Japanese has also been mentioned. University Avenue in Rangoon has long been off limits to all non-governmental vehicles due to its close proximity to Aung San Suu Kyi’s home, where she is currently again under house arrest. Vehicles registered to the Japanese embassy, however, are allowed to pass through the roadblocks uninhibited. This is something their colleagues find quite alarming. "Other than the Japanese, INGOs in Burma have done a tremendous job of not allowing the regime to legitimize themselves at their expense," says one Rangoon insider. The Japanese INGOs are not alone, however. UN agencies working in Burma have also been criticized for not properly monitoring their projects and thus leaving themselves open to corruption. A number of Rangoon insiders have also criticized the UN for their recent handling of the dismissed UN doctor. The UN did not come to his defense or appeal to the government to keep him in country.